Negativity not allowed at ‘Rally for President Trump’ in Lexington

Monday was Presidents Day, and many people across the nation, including those at a protest at the State House in Columbia, used the holiday as an opportunity to voice their displeasure with the current Commander in Chief, Donald Trump.

That wasn’t the case in Red Bank, where a group got together to show their support for President Trump.

Organizers estimated about 60 people were on hand at the “Rally for President Trump,” where participants carried flags and signs supporting the president.

The event was billed with the “sole purpose” of supporting the president, and Monica Schmitz, one of the organizers, had one explicit instruction – negativity is absolutely prohibited.

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“We are thrilled so many came out to support us. We want to see peace and unity,” said Schmitz, a veteran of the Navy, who organized the event along with fellow disabled veterans Shawn Herzog and Chase Brown. Both are Army veterans, with Brown serving a tour in Iraq and Herzog touring in Iraq in addition to Afghanistan. “We are All Americans and need to come together for the better good of all.”

The rally was from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on South Lake Drive, near the intersection of Two Notch Road and SC-6. The organizers asked those in attendance to be civil and law abiding, and by all accounts it was a positive experience.

“We honestly never expected anything like this to develop,” said Schmitz, who wanted to do something for Presidents Day, and came up with the idea of a rally with Brown and Herzog. “I asked my friends if they would like to do something … like find a place to wave a flag and hold a sign to show our support for President Trump. The guys and I feel strongly about our country.”

They created a Facebook page to promote the rally. It attracted people interested in attending and others who wanted to post their support for the president.

Other groups are planning to organize more events in the Midlands in the near future to share their support for the president, who is in his second month in the Oval Office. Schmitz might have laid a solid foundation for others to build on.

“I simply hope to share a message of peace and unity,” she said, adding “and the reason for today, thank you President Trump for your service to our country.”